Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-05-20
WHITE WIT AGAINST RED.
How Joe Wagner Paralyzed an Ambitious
Young Indian.

New York Star.
Reckon you know the old Red Cloud
agency, to the northwest of Fort Lara
ME? queried Joe Wagner. the Iudian
fighter, as he was asked to narrate one of
his adventures
eyes"
aWelI. still to the northeast of that is
the Spotted Tail Agency, provided that
the Indian Agents haven't stolen 1t.
Through these two reservations runs
bit of a river called the Niobrara, and at
a big bend midway between the two
agencies l sot myself down to do some
trapping. 1t was the first or second year
after the agencies were established and
the redskins forced to live upoa them,
and the whole lot of them were In can
tankerous from Sunday morning to
Saturday night. War parties were sneak
ing off the reservations now and then, to
sneak back when the pursuit became toe
hot. and the red devils left at home
thought no more of killing white hunt
er than you would of kicking chip out
of your way.
II went to hunt and trap because it was
a great game region, butt realized all the
perils. knew that If was discovered by
L u
outf,ted at Larimie with mule, proVis
ions and traps, and was ten or leven days
pettin to the bend in the river l hso
spoken Of. The first thing WIS to corral
the mule in a safe place, and the next to go
into camp about a mile away and leave as
few traces of my presence as possible.
didn't see any Indian signs around there
but did not let that fact make me over
confident have been struck with ra.tle-
snake WHEN | did not think there was one
within ten miles. made me comfortable
shelter of limbs and brush, got fifty six
traps into the river and some dead-falls
act, and had begun to feel a bit easier in
nv mind, when on the third day after my
arrival, | secuted out to see il the mule
was all right, found him dead, His throat
was cut from ear to ear, and, by the great
horn spoon it was the work of red-skln.
He had not only cut the animals throat
clear across but had cut and slashed the
body in fifty places. In the ,igu language
of the Indian that meant contempt for
the owner ot the mule. 1t meant for me
TO look out for myself.It meant war to
the knife on the white man who had dared
trespa-s upon the forbidden ground.
If had been fool 'nff to go walking
around in search of the mule, the chap
who finished him would finish me. But
wasn't you see. went gliding about like
a saI pint, and from, the edge of thlcBet
saw the body of the mule lying III little
glade. That there was an Indian near by
ready to draw bead on me had no
doubt, and the idea didn't rattle me as
much as you might suppose. reasoned
that if there were two reds they would
have run the mule off instead of killing
him. believed that there was only one, and
that he was some young warrior who was
ambitious to match cunning with me, and
who wanted the honor of having out-gen
erald me. That tickled me bit. l don't
want to do any Boosting, but I've lived
in the Indian country all my life, and 1t
never happened that red-skln got very
far ahead OF me as any body knows of.
1t was about ten in the morning when
1 got my gentle hint. From the looks of
the body L judged the mule had been
killed that very morning. This made IL
pretty clear that the red-skin had not
yet discovered my shelter. Otherwise he
would have attended to my case first.
My first care was to get out OF the
neigborhood without leaving any trail, land
then to build small fire mile or so
from my camp, aud cut down brush and
build decOy camp. The fire | used to
cook my breakfast had been built IN
hole in the ground, and carefully ex-
tinguished when it had answered my pur-
pose. The red would smell the smoke of
this fire half mile away, and l chuckled
as | thought of him skulking around there
and waiting for man about my size to
come in and be bored with bullet.
THE next move was to strike the river
just where the savage would hit it If
looking for my traps. 1t was guess work,
of course, but l surveyed the ground, put
his head on my shoulders for half an
hour, and when | waded back l was in
ambush in a bunch of willows, and he
would have to show himself to get to me.
| reasoned that he would find the fire and
the counterfeit camp by seven o'clock.
He would hang around there until about
two before he gave up looking for me.
Then he would slide for the river, hoping
to pick me up as | sat on the ground
pulling the pelts off my catch. l had been
in position over an hour, and was begin
ming to wish the climax would come,
when sudden thought lifted me foot
high, and inside of a minute | was snak
ing my way down the stream. 1t struck
me all in heap that l had reasoned
wrong. The red skin wouldn't come my
way at all, nor come through the woods,
but would go further up the river and
come floating down along the right bank,
which was heavily shaded, and in the
shadow. | came to stand about
quarter of mile below the ambush. and
In one of the small bends of the stream.
| could now see up the river clear to the
spot l had vacated, and what dc you sup
pose happened inside of ten minutes?
Well, sir, that Indian came floating down
at the end of an old log, and when he
reached the point opposite where l had
waited to ambush him he rose up, picked
his rifle off the log and wsded ashore,
drawing the log after him, and landing
it. Then he softly crept into the willows
snd if | had been waiting in the old spot
he would have had my back to him, and |
would have been a goner. The cuss had
reasoned 1t ont for himself. He had dis
covered that the camp was bogus. He
had reasoned that l would lay for him
just where l did. Then, to beat me at
any game, he had gone up the stream and
hoated down to take me in the rear.
Sharp Indian, he was, but there
was party by the name of
Joe Wagner in that neighborhood,
Just then. L could nave shot the red as
he left the water, for | had a monstrously
heavy rifle, but didn't want to. l want
ed to mortify and humiliate him first. In
half an hour he reappeared and he was
puzzled. After standing for a few min
utes he made up his mind that l had post
ed myself lower down, and he set his log
aloat aud comes drifting along with only
his nose above the water. just as he
reached me he pushed the log into the
bank, waited for a long three minutes,
and then rose up and crawled ashore. As
he rose up to get good view around him
we were not thirty feet apart. l riz too,
rifle to my shoulder, and yelled at him:
Bah! Yousre only squaw at this
gamer
well, sir; he was paralyzed- first
case of the kind ever saw. His rife fell
to the earth, his jaw dropped, his eyes
bulged out, and just did hate to pull
trigger ans knock him over. Wouldn't
have doue it if l had thought he would
have prom ised to go home and leave me
alone, though somebody would have had
to pay for that mule"
Disease in Poultry
1t is important that breeders of poul-
try, more especially of high class vari-
cites and those who produce largo num-
bers every year, should understand some